ELECTION RESULTS: Community Preservation Act Rejected

UPDATE Wednesday, 10:55 a.m.: Stoneham Town Clerk Maria Sagarino said the final official numbers changed "very slightly" from Tuesday night's unofficial results. The new results are attached as a PDF in the box to the right and the article has been updated.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

The Community Preservation Act (CPA) isn't coming to Stoneham, and the incumbents are back in office.

On Tuesday, the majority of residents who made their way to the polls voted 'no' on the CPA, which would've allowed the town to place a 1 percent surcharge on property taxes, with those funds and any matching funds from the state going to a fund specifically designated for open space, parks, recreational uses and conservation.

Unofficial tallies had 51.8 percent voting against the CPA and 39.5 percent voting in favor, with the remaining ballots left blank. 

Meanwhile, Stoneham's incumbents won each of their contested races, although not without some strong challenges, according to unofficial results provided by Stoneham Town Clerk Maria Sagarino. (The unofficial results can be viewed by clicking on the PDF in the photo box to the right.)

Board of Selectmen

Frank Vallarelli and John DePinto were both re-elected to the Board of Selectmen, with DePinto taking the second seat with a narrow 61 vote margin over next runner-up Shelly MacNeill. Challenger John Warren wasn't far behind, 62 votes himself behind MacNeill.

The unofficial count has Vallarelli with 24.8 percent of the vote, DePinto with 22.1 percent, MacNeill with 21 percent and Warren with 19.8 percent.

Vallarelli and DePinto both won three-year terms.

School Committee

Jeanne Craigie won re-election for the sole seat up for grabs on the Stoneham School Committee, fending off a strong challenge from Caroline Colarusso.

Craigie won 50.7 percent of the vote and a three-year term. Colarusso took 38.9 percent and challenger Julianne DeSimone took 6.3 percent.

Moderator

Moderator Lawrence Means won re-election and a two-year term over challenger F. John Carino. Means won 54.7 percent of the vote and Carino took 36.1 percent.

Board of Assessors

Anthony Kennedy won re-election to the Board of Assessor for a three-year term, fending off challenger Michael Rotondi. Kennedy won 65.1 percent of the vote and Rotondi took 23.2 percent.

Uncontested races

Several candidates ran uncontested, including:

• Town Clerk: Maria Sagarino, incumbent, three-year term

• Board of Health: Teresa Dean, three-year term

• Housing Authority five-year term: Thomas Anderson

• Housing Authority three-year term to fill vacancy: Gerard Cunningham

• Housing Authority two-year term to fill vacancy: Kevin McLaughlin

• Planning Board: Daniel Moynihan Jr., five-year term

• Library Trustee (two seats): Susan Doucette, incumbent, and Susan Waldman Fixman, incumbent, both for three-year terms

Turnout

Turnout was low, according to the unofficial results, with little more than 17 percent turnout—2,637 of 15,302 registered voters. Sagarino said in an email on Tuesday night that those numbers will change slightly due to a few unread ballots that must be added by hand.